SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) – The actions of striking concrete workers will result in their union having to face property destruction claims.
On Nov. 16, the Washington Court of Appeals refused to change its mind on a ruling it issued earlier Glacier Northwest couldn’t sue International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union No. 174 for misrepresentation and tortious interference with a business relationship.
But Glacier will still get to pursue destruction of property claims, as the court had ruled the alleged behavior isn’t subject to federal preemption.
The strike occurred on Aug. 11, 2017, when Seattle workers started mixing concrete and delivering it to customers. Union agents were at the facility and observed drivers loading mixed concrete onto their trucks.
The collective bargaining agreement had expired 12 days earlier and negotiations were ongoing. Glacier says once the union knew there was a substantial volume of mixed concrete, they called for a work stoppage.
Loads weren’t delivered and concrete dried, it is alleged. The company poured the concrete into bunkers it quickly made and washed out the trucks, then had to use excavation equipment to break up the hardened concrete to haul to a disposal site.
“It was complete chaos,” one of the company’s managers testified.
As a big job approached on Aug. 19, the sides reached an agreement. The union said drivers were instructed to respond to dispatch, but 39 drivers did not respond and the pour was canceled.
Glacier’s subsequent lawsuit complained that the union messed with its contract but the company has lost that claim.
But the appeals court wrote that the National Labor Relations Board has determined that intentional destruction of property during a lawful work stoppage is not protected.